When to max out before competition?

[musclestack]

I have a bench-only competition coming up on Feb. 21 (about 2 1/2 weeks away). I want to max out in the gym once before my comp to get an idea of what kind of weight I can push when the comp day comes. I always train chest on Tuesday, so I was going to max out on the Tuesday before the meet (4 days prior), but I'm thinking maybe it would be smarter to do it next week so I have over a week to recover before I do it again in competition.

What do you guys think? Will I be recovered enough if I wait until the Tuesday before to max out? Or should I do it 1 1/2 weeks before? Or will it even matter? Btw, I'm on cycle.

[Docd187123]

I wouldn't max out 4days before a meet. I'm in my leaking phase now and will be maxing close to 3wks out with the final 2wks as a deload

[musclestack]

Thanks, Doc. You think I can max out next Tuesday, and have a light week the week after before my meet?

[Docd187123]

Thanks, Doc. You think I can max out next Tuesday, and have a light week the week after before my meet?

If you have at least a week or so it shouldn't affect you as much as 4days obviously. After maxing I'd take the rest of the time off from bench unless we are talking extremely light weight just as a form of active recovery and maintaining neural pathways.

[musclestack]

Thanks! Will do.

[600@50]

I wouldn't max out at all in the gym. Just work up to your opener for the meet. Good and strict. Make it perfect. Make it a double if it would make you feel better about it. Save the maxing for the contest. Best of luck.

[musclestack]

I wouldn't max out at all in the gym. Just work up to your opener for the meet. Good and strict. Make it perfect. Make it a double if it would make you feel better about it. Save the maxing for the contest. Best of luck.

I appreciate the advice! But I would really like to know how much I can push BEFORE the day of contest. My opener will be around 320. I already know I can get that. What I'd really like to know is if I can get 365. I don't want to be second-guessing myself the day of the event.

[musclestack]

Doc, I'm going in today to prep for my meet. I'm going to do a couple light warm-up sets, then start maxing out. My plan is to start at 320, then do 2-3 more maxes after that to hopefully get up to 365. Once I'm done with this, would you advise to work in a light chest session, or just forget about training chest until after my competition? My meet is 11 days away.

[Docd187123]

Doc, I'm going in today to prep for my meet. I'm going to do a couple light warm-up sets, then start maxing out. My plan is to start at 320, then do 2-3 more maxes after that to hopefully get up to 365. Once I'm done with this, would you advise to work in a light chest session, or just forget about training chest until after my competition? My meet is 11 days away.

11days is really pushing it. If you're going to do that I'd skip the chest workout spend your time foam rolling, hitting trouble areas with a lacrosse ball, stretching, etc.

[musclestack]

11days is really pushing it. If you're going to do that I'd skip the chest workout spend your time foam rolling, hitting trouble areas with a lacrosse ball, stretching, etc.

Ok. And skip my chest workout next week also? Or can I incorporate a really light dumbell session and maybe some flys to stretch out/keep the muscles 'warm and ready'?

[Docd187123]

Ok. And skip my chest workout next week also? Or can I incorporate a really light dumbell session and maybe some flys to stretch out/keep the muscles 'warm and ready'?

My coach has me doing absolutely nothing the week before the meet except stay loose and do active recovery stuff. The week before that I'm deloading. Granted my meet is full power but you can see I have two light weeks of workouts immediately prior to the meet

[musclestack]

Understood. Thanks!

[musclestack]

So, I just got back from the gym about an hour ago. I did a warm-up set with 135, then a warm-up set with 225. Then, I started maxing out. First, I did 315, then 335, then 355, then 365. The 365 went up pretty nicely. I decided to go ahead and go for 375, but I failed. Who knows, maybe if I would have tried it when I wasn't fatigued from the other lifts, I could've got it. I also didn't take as much time in between sets as you would normally have in a meet. Oh well, my goal was to get 365, and I did. This was the goal I set out for myself 12 weeks ago as well, and I have reached it, so I'm very happy about that. Nice, slow rep with about a 1-2 second pause at the bottom.

So, here's my question: I know that I can get up to 365 pounds at my upcoming meet. The question is what should my opening and second lifts be? Should I do more or less what I did tonight, and go with say, 320, 340, 365? Or should I try to pass 365 on my third lift, and go with something like 330, 365, 375?

Doc, or anyone else experienced in powerlifting, could you chime in on this?

[Jekyll vs Hyde]

What was your rep count on the warm up sets?

[Docd187123]

Everyone will have differing thoughts on this but for bench I'd say use a 95% double as your opener. Your second attempt will either be what you PRed in the gym, maybe your 365, or you could base it off your opener and how easy or difficult it felt. The easier it felt the bigger the jump you could probably make. Your final attempt, if you got white lighted on your first two attempts, should try to break your PR and base it off your 2nd lift.

[musclestack]

What was your rep count on the warm up sets?

8 on each. Felt it was just enough to get the blood flowing and the shoulders warmed up.

[musclestack]

Everyone will have differing thoughts on this but for bench I'd say use a 95% double as your opener. Your second attempt will either be what you PRed in the gym, maybe your 365, or you could base it off your opener and how easy or difficult it felt. The easier it felt the bigger the jump you could probably make. Your final attempt, if you got white lighted on your first two attempts, should try to break your PR and base it off your 2nd lift.

This is what I'm thinking also Doc. I'm thinking open with 330 since there's no doubt I can get it, then based on how I'm feeling, hopefully shoot for 365 on the second attempt. If that goes well, it's just going to depend on how 365 felt and how strong I'm feeling to determine where to go from there.

Thanks for the help!

[Docd187123]

Just remember you maxed very close to your meet day. The rest of the time now should be spent recovering. Massages, deep tissue work, stretching, foam rolling, good eating and sleeping habits, etc.

[musclestack]

Will do. I'll let you and the others know how the meet goes. Thanks!

[musclestack]

Had my competition today. I took first place in the men's open 220 pound raw division. Third attempt was 375 lbs. To be honest, going in, I didn't expect to win when I looked at a couple other guys' openers. Turns out, they both failed at 385, and I ended up with the win. Just goes to show you that anything can happen in competition.

I was just happy that I broke 365 for a new PR. 405 here I come!

P.S. Thanks to Doc and others here for all the help in prepping.

[Docd187123]

Had my competition today. I took first place in the men's open 220 pound raw division. Third attempt was 375 lbs. To be honest, going in, I didn't expect to win when I looked at a couple other guys' openers. Turns out, they both failed at 385, and I ended up with the win. Just goes to show you that anything can happen in competition.

I was just happy that I broke 365 for a new PR. 405 here I come!

P.S. Thanks to Doc and others here for all the help in prepping.

Good shit man, 375 is impressive and a platform PR is written in the books for life unlike a gym PR lol. 405 is a stone's throw away.

[Khazima]

Had my competition today. I took first place in the men's open 220 pound raw division. Third attempt was 375 lbs. To be honest, going in, I didn't expect to win when I looked at a couple other guys' openers. Turns out, they both failed at 385, and I ended up with the win. Just goes to show you that anything can happen in competition.

I was just happy that I broke 365 for a new PR. 405 here I come!

P.S. Thanks to Doc and others here for all the help in prepping.

Congrats bro, killed it!

[musclestack]

Thanks a lot guys. Even if I wouldn't have taken first, I'm still very happy with my performance. My only goal was to get 375 since I failed on it a couple weeks ago. As long as I'm better than I was yesterday, that's progress, and that's what really matters to me. Well, I guess I kinda like winning too lol!

[kelkel]

Great work musclestack!

[600@50]

Great job!!!! Congrats on the PR!!!!!!

[Snake2YoFace]

I have a bench-only competition coming up on Feb. 21 (about 2 1/2 weeks away). I want to max out in the gym once before my comp to get an idea of what kind of weight I can push when the comp day comes. I always train chest on Tuesday, so I was going to max out on the Tuesday before the meet (4 days prior), but I'm thinking maybe it would be smarter to do it next week so I have over a week to recover before I do it again in competition.

What do you guys think? Will I be recovered enough if I wait until the Tuesday before to max out? Or should I do it 1 1/2 weeks before? Or will it even matter? Btw, I'm on cycle.

Forgive me, but I thought the point of going through all the calculations and getting your game plan on paper, following said periodization model, the last week or two you should be deloading and NOT working with a weight above 85% 1-2 rep max.
The whole point of training for a meet is not to waste your max in training, it's to nail that ________________ on meet day!

but some have told me I'm wrong and don't know what I'm talking about.... that's the internet!

[Snake2YoFace]

Thanks a lot guys. Even if I wouldn't have taken first, I'm still very happy with my performance. My only goal was to get 375 since I failed on it a couple weeks ago. As long as I'm better than I was yesterday, that's progress, and that's what really matters to me. Well, I guess I kinda like winning too lol!

"As long as I'm better than I was yesterday, that's progress" -Well said. After all if this stuff was easy and everyone could squat a grand after a couple months of training, it wouldn't be the challenge we love so much. It's not whether you win or lose, but the fact you gave it your all, that's why my mental health is so much better than my younger years. Appreciation for the goals achieved and the wisdom to apply lessons learned from previous mistakes with the hunger to learn as much as I can about human kinetics gives me knowledge i lacked previously. I don't care about the wasted time doing the wrong thing, all that matters is learning from it, recognizing what should be changed and the determination to move forward for a goal only I can see. Good Luck and never give up!